1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to a method and apparatus for inserting a marker into a book near the binding.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Theft is a continually growing problem in society, requiring additional security measures to minimize theft. In particular, many stores and other places of business have installed electronic article surveillance systems (EAS) for controlling unauthorized removal of articles. Such systems use a single or dual status ferromagnetic marker attached to an article with systems placed at exits which detect the markers and sound an alarm.
Bookstores and libraries have special problems with theft of books, which are easily concealed. Libraries rarely have surveillance systems and typically have very limited resources for security personnel. Libraries cannot afford the expense of stolen books and, in many instances, libraries lose books which are very rare and irreplaceable. Bookstores try to minimize shoplifting of expensive inventory which is easily accessible and which may be difficult to monitor in crowded stores.
Special EAS systems have been developed for libraries and bookstores. The markers and attachment methods used with clothing and many other articles cannot be easily attached to books without damaging the book. EAS ferromagnetic markers for use in books are typically long narrow strips that are manually inserted between two opposing pages of a book, close to and extending substantially parallel to the binding. Such a marker is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,331,313, assigned to Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company. Each side of the marker is typically coated with an adhesive to secure the marker to the book pages. When properly placed, the markers are difficult to visually detect, difficult to remove, and do not detract from the reader's ability to read and enjoy the book. The markers must be deactivated when articles marked with them are checked out of libraries or purchased in stores so that an alarm does not sound.
It can be appreciated that for such systems to function effectively, all the books in a library collection must include a detectable marker. The markers heretofore have. been manually removed from a box of markers and inserted into a book. Manual removal and insertion of markers in libraries may be acceptable when the collection is quite small, however manual insertion methods may not be acceptable with larger collections.
The markers are typically manufactured in a roll on a backing sheet with an adhesive backing on both the front and back to adhere to the pages of the book. Individual strips are cut from the roll for insertion. Each marker includes overlapping backing material on each face. The process of removing an individual backing sheet from the adhesive coated marker and manually inserting and positioning each individual marker is very laborious, expensive and time consuming for large collections.
In addition to time and expense involved with manual. insertion, the quality of positioning each marker may vary with hand placement. It is appreciated that if markers having adhesive on both sides are placed on the page too far from the binding, it will be more difficult for the reader to turn the pages and the pages between which the marker is inserted will not be sufficiently separated and may be difficult to read. Similar problems also occur should the marker be placed into the book is a skewed or bowed manner. The removal and insertion of the markers by hand may also unduly stress or otherwise damage the markers. When this occurs, signal loss may become great enough that the markers may not be accurately detected.
With some types of books, the binding includes a spine. portion with a space between the cover and the spine. However, insertion of markers into the space is difficult as the space may only be accessed from the ends of the book. As the markers have an adhesive placed thereon, it is difficult to slide the markers into the end of the opening without the adhesive adhering to portions of the book at the wrong position.
As access to books is somewhat difficult in some libraries, often requiring a ladder to reach, it is important that the books need not necessarily be transported to a central location for marker insertion. Therefore it will be appreciated that if an insertion device is mobile so that it may be brought either into the aisles between book shelves or at least to different locations within the library, the work involved in transporting books is decreased.
It can be seen then, that a new and improved apparatus and method for marker insertion are needed for inserting a detection marker between opposing pages of a book or into the spine of a book. It can be appreciated that such a device should provide for properly positioning and aligning a marker in a book in a rapid manner. In addition, the device should provide for automatically removing the markers from a roll or other packaging of multiple markers. The device should be adaptable for inserting markers into a variety of sizes and types of books. The present invention addresses these as well as other problems associated with removal, insertion and placement of detectable markers used with books.